Palazzo Ducale, 1908, oil on canvas, Claude Monet
This post accompanies images from the “Monet and Venice” exhibition, focusing on the works within it that quietly outshone Monet’s.
I have to admit, when a friend invited me to see the ongoing Monet and Venice exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, I was not exactly enthused. I am no great admirer of either the institution or French Impressionist painting. I went largely in hopes of revisiting works I actually care about, including sculptures by Auguste Rodin, St. Joseph with the Flowering Rod by Jusepe de Ribera, and a few stalwarts of the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt.
Naturally, none of that worked out. Rodin, Ribera, and several other significant paintings were not on view. Space that once housed masterpieces has clearly been reallocated for ideological display priorities, and what little remained was often sabotaged by poor lighting or baffling curatorial decisions. In the Arts of the Americas Galleries on the fifth floor, an entire wall of paintings was hung just inches above the floor, forcing viewers to look downward while the rest of the wall remained empty. I am not opposed to salon-style hanging in principle, but here it only emphasized the jarring disparity between works rather than creating dialogue or cohesion.
As for Monet and Venice, it was considerably better than expected, though not because of Claude Monet himself. Like my recent visit to the Morgan Library & Museum for the Renoir Drawing exhibition, I approached this show willing to give French Impressionism another chance. Ironically, the lone work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir here impressed me more than the entire Renoir exhibition at the Morgan.
While crowds clustered predictably around Monet, the real rewards lay elsewhere in the superb works by J.M.W. Turner, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Moran, James McNeill Whistler, and, of course, Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto). These works, not Monet’s, justified the visit.
Still, the overall experience was disappointing enough that I renewed my promise, first made in 2011, not to return unless the museum offers something genuinely worthwhile. Judging by the current trajectory, the days of exhibitions like The Treasure of San Gennaro: Baroque Silver from Naples (1987–1988) or Hands of Rodin: A Tribute to B. Gerald Cantor (1997) are long gone.
Before leaving, we walked past the Brooklyn Botanic Garden toward Grand Army Plaza, stopping to see the Bailey Fountain, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, and the imposing façade of the Brooklyn Public Library. Sadly, much of it was obscured by scaffolding.
Another great institution that went by the wayside, the library’s decline felt especially personal. I spent countless hours there before the internet and administrative dogma hollowed out both research and collections. Safer then, I used to read outside and admire Carl Paul Jennewein’s iconic Art Deco gilded bas-reliefs depicting the evolution of the arts and sciences on the massive bronze doors and towering pylons. Like much else in Brooklyn, the institution remains physically present but spiritually diminished.
~ By Giovanni di Napoli, December 29th, Feast of San Tommaso Becket
 |
| Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Effect, 1903, oil on canvas, Claude Monet |
 |
| Waterloo Bridge: Effect of Sunlight in the Fog, 1903, oil on canvas, Claude Monet |
 |
| The Palazzo Ducale, Seen from San Giorgio Maggiore, 1908, oil on canvas, Claude Monet |
 |
| Venice, the Grand Canal, Looking East with Santa Maria della Salute, 1749-50, oil on canvas, Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) |
 |
| The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, ca. 1745, oil on canvas, Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) |
 |
| View of Venice (Santa Maria della Salute from Campo della Carita), 1828, oil on paper laid on canvas, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot |
 |
| View of Campo della Carita toward the Dome of the Salute, 1834, oil on paper laid on canvas, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot |
 |
| An Interior in Venice, 1899, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent |
 |
| The Church of San Stae, ca. 1907-13, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent |
 |
| Venice, The Palazzo Ducale, 1881, oil on canvas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
 |
| Sunset, Santa Maria and the Ducal Palace, Venice, 1902, oil on canvas, Thomas Moran |
 |
| The Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, across the Grand Canal from the Hotel Europa (Palazzo Giustinian) at Twilight, 1840, graphite, watercolor, and pen and ink on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| San Giorgio Maggiore, ca. 1835, gouache on gray paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| The Grand Canal, Venice, near the Accademia, with Santa Maria della Salute in the Distance, possibly 1840, gouache, graphite, and watercolor on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Palazzo Balbi and the Moceniga Palaces, and the Rialto Bridge in the Distance, 1840, graphite and watercolor on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| The Piazzetta, Palazzo Ducale and New Prisons from the Bacino, Venice, with Moored Boats, 1840, watercolor on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| Boats at the Entrance to the Canale della Giudecca, Venice, off Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana, possibly 1840, graphite, watercolor, bodycolor, and pen and ink on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner |
 |
| (L) The Campanile and Piazza of San Marco (St Mark's Square), Venice, with the Pilastri Acritani beside the Basilica, from the Porta della Carta of the Palazzo Ducale, 1840, gouache, graphite, and watercolor on paper, Joseph Mallord William Turner. (R) The Beggars, 1879-80, etching on paper, James McNeill Whistler |
 |
| Nocturne, 1879-80, etching, James McNeill Whistler |
